Theme: Trust between Citizens & Institutions

Amid a purported increase in vaccine hesitancy in South Africa, and a week of unrest in early July which caused interruptions to the vaccine drive in parts of the country, South Africa has now opened up vaccinations to the entire adult population, that is anyone over the age of 18. Despite studies suggesting that vaccine hesitancy was more prevalent among younger age groups, the youth flocked to vaccine centres in their thousands heeding the government’s call to get vaccinated against COVID-19, stifling some of the panic surrounding vaccine hesitancy.

The outbreak of COVID -19 and the ferocity with which it has spread across the world imposes the need for an equally formidable response to safeguard not only public health, but also democracy. This is in view of the fact that the magnitude of this global health crisis could topple democratic institutions and offer a glamorous appeasement to governments to use emergency powers to inhibit civil and political rights.

Zambians went to the polls on 12th August 2021 to cast their votes in the General elections. The political landscape was dominated by two political parties; the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) led by Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) led by Hakainde Hichilema. After a tense election, the opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema emerged as the winner of the Presidential election with almost one million votes more than the incumbent.

On 24 August 2021, Zambia’s seventh republican president, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema fondly known as HH of the United Party for National Development (UPND) was sworn in. While his ascent to power was a resounding triumph in the 2021 presidential elections, the canvassing was coarse. In addition to circumscribed political space to campaign, he was also a target of hate speech and tribal rhetoric from some political opponents. Although uttered within the ambit of electioneering, there are inescapable after effects especially in sustaining social cohesion.

Zimbabwe’s reaction to the hashtag #ZambiaDecides2021 has been so poignant as to reflect the impression that the election had taken place in the country south of the Zambezi itself. Indeed, the parallels between Zambia and Zimbabwe are too close to call, especially on the electoral front in recent years.

COVID-19 has ravaged and devastated economies, fracturing communities’ social safety and exposing individuals to unemployment, homelessness, a heightened sense of loneliness, a careless world, and mental health challenges. These effects of COVID-19, though the world over, have been felt even more in the Global South, especially in Africa. Unfortunately, the light touch of the first wave might have created a false sense of escaping for many African countries, robbing the continent of precious time to better prepare for subsequent waves.

The world watched while India struggled with the COVID-19 Delta variant that was proving to be the most transmissible COVID-19 variant worldwide. It was only a matter of time before the African continent would have to face up to this more contagious variant too.

It was particularly pleasing for me, on the occasion of the International Year for the Abolition of Child Labour, Forced Labour and Trafficking in Persons, which Africa celebrated on 18 June 2021, to launch a reflection on child labour in Central Africa, particularly in the mining sector, and the influence of COVID-19 on this unfortunate scourge. The problem of child labour in the world, and particularly in Africa, is a major issue that deserves to be addressed with the utmost rigour and urgency.

With new technologies and the evolution of medical science in the twenty first century, the COVID-19 vaccine was developed faster than vaccines for previous pandemics and epidemics. Vaccine nationalism, where some governments signed agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply their own populations with vaccines before they had become available for other countries, has led to the politicization of COVID-19 vaccines.

Almost a year and a half later, the coronavirus pandemic continues to exacerbate pre-existing socio-economic and political challenges in Africa. At the onset of the third wave in June, and where most developed countries responded with vigorous vaccination drives, the fate of African populations and their livelihoods remain uncertain and under severe pressure. This article reflects on the way in which countries are responding to the third wave amidst the rollout of vaccines.